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134 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA SEPTEMBER 2016
PHOTOGRAPHYALAMY,FRENCHYSTYLE/BLAUBLUT-EDITION.COM/SNAPPERMEDIA,GETTYIMAGES
At the higher end of retail, cult items can come from the
catwalk, says Damien Paul, head of menswear at Matchesfashion.
com, a site that stocks some 400 established and emerging
designers. “The Saint Laurent palm print satin varsity jacket
sold out, proof that runway looks translate well to sales,” he says.
“The Yeezy [a collaborative project between Adidas and Kanye
West] sold incredibly well.”
Paul says personality plays a part in driving the buzz. “These
items tend to come from a designer or brand in the spotlight.
Before you know it, you have a waiting list.”
Add a touch of humour or a retro feel and a product can go
viral, which can slow down the cycle. “They are given a bit more
longevity as bloggers and Instagrammers continue to inspire
customers on how to wear these pieces in diferent ways,” says
Asos’s Spence. “Global access means cult items aren’t limited to
being cult in particular cities, they can become global cult items.”
As was the case with the DHL T-shirt. On Instagram you
can see selfes of people rocking the trend in countries from
Thailand to Germany. These images of cult items allow people
to connect across the world in a way they weren’t able to pre-
social media. Mickiewicz believes this brings more visibility to
previously niche fashion tribes. “There is no longer the one goth
at the back of the classroom,” he says. “Instead, these ‘weirdos’
now have thousands of followers, reafrming a group identity on
a daily basis, on sites like Instagram.”
Cross-cultural success also happened for Gudrun & Gudrun,
a knitwear company set up by two women from Denmark’s
Faroe Islands in 2002. In 2011, their chunky knits got a profle
thanks to Danish detective series The Killing. Their black and
white jumper gained a following after being worn by main case-
cracker Sarah Lund and, with the success of the program, interest
in the jumper spiked. “One day we had 20 orders from the UK
and we were thinking ‘why is that?’,” says co-founder Gudrun
Rogvadottir. “Then we found out it [The
Killing] was on BBC Four. It sold well up
until that Christmas and we still sell it.”
Rogvadottir says being the brand
behind a cult item has helped the small
operation have global reach. “Since then
we have had a pop-up store in London
that we hope to have again,” she says.
Although, like a hit single, a cult item can
bring one-hit-wonder anxiety.
This is something Jemma Dyas, of Être
Cécile, understands. Launched in 2013 by
British buyer Dyas and Australians Yasmin
Sewell and Kyle Robinson, the brand hit
cult success with their slogan T-shirts
proclaiming things such as ‘Bad Ass Paris’,
as worn by Cara Delevingne. Dyas believes
you can’t manufacture a cult item, “it
should come from an organic place”.
Staying power is the jackpot. The jury is
out on whether or not the DHL T-shirt will
last beyond 2016, but one thing will always
be true: a cult item will be forever cool. “The
Harrington bomber jacket, Chuck Taylor
sneakers and Doc Martens will remain in
popular culture,” says Mickiewicz. “ Real
cult items stay cult.”
Add a touch of humour
or a retro feel and a
product can go viral.
CLOCKWISE
FROM ABOVE
Models showcase
Kanye West’s Yeezy
Season 3 collection;
The Killing actress
Sofe Gråbøl made this
Gundrun & Gundrun
jumper famous; Cara
Delevingne wearing
Être Cécile’s ‘Bad Ass
Paris’ tee.
V0916_NAV Cult Items.indd 134
12/08/2016 9:23:05 AM